L.A. MOVES FORWARD
Big Turnout, Big News and Big Discussions at the 2009 Mayoral Housing,
Transportation, and Jobs Summit at UCLA |
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Summit
in Sum: Major LABC Report Released |
 The Los Angeles Business Council's 2009 Mayoral Housing, Transportation, and Jobs Summit at UCLA's Korn Hall offered day of engaging speeches and panels, with over 400 people in attendance. The Honorable Eric Garcetti, LA City Council President (left) moderated the event. The highlight of the
Summit
was the release of the Los Angeles Employer Assisted Housing Handbook, which finds that the local workforce continues to face overwhelming challenges securing affordable housing near employment centers, undermining the competitiveness of regional businesses and diminishing the quality of life for area residents. “Closing the housing affordability gap for our region will require close cooperation between the public and private sectors, but local businesses are not waiting any longer for government solutions to meet immediate housing needs for their employees,” said Mary Leslie, LABC President and Handbook Co-Chair.
 This report underscores the efforts of a number of California employers — from Google to UCLA to LAUSD — that have instituted innovative housing assistance programs, outlining how these programs have helped to improve business’ recruitment and retention of employees. The report argues that these programs can play a pivotal role in improving regional economic competitiveness and jobs/housing balance in the short-term, and work as part of a long-term economic development strategy, which includes encouraging smart growth, investing in public transportation and building a vibrant clean-tech economy . Download a PDF of the Handbook here. |
Mercedes Márquez Talks Realignment |
 Mercedes Márquez (left) framed the summit's first panel, offering remarks from
the perspective of her new role as the Assistant Secretary for Community
Planning and Development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. The summit marked Márquez's first return to Los Angeles since her
appointment to this position. The former General Manager at the Los Angeles
Planning Department, Márquez offered a compelling and informative perspective
based on her breadth of experience in both local and federal government,
describing how the Obama Administration's coming realignment of agencies will be
"inelegant but strong." She also spoke about HUD's plans for a Choice Neighborhood's Initiative which would challenge
public, private and nonprofit partners to extend neighborhood transformation
efforts beyond public housing and link housing interventions more closely with
school reform and early childhood innovation. |
Panel I: National Housing Policy and Financing Workforce
Housing |
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From left: Antonio Manning, Regional Manager, JP Morgan Chase
Foundation, Global Philanthropy moderated the framing panel; Paul Cummings,
Senior V.P. and Western Region Executive, Enterprise Community Partners; J.
Michael Fried, Founder & CEO, Phoenix Realty Group; Erin Rank, President and
CEO, Habitat for Humanity; Greg Vilkin, Managing Principal & President,
Macfarlane Partners.
The first panel focused on how public and
private organizations have responded to changes in the real estate market and
the spate of foreclosures that have been caused by the recession. |
Panel II: Connecting Jobs and Housing: Transportation and
Transit Oriented Development |
 From left: Richard Katz, Director, Metro; Alan I. Casden, CEO
& Chairman, Casden Properties LLC; Helmi Hisserich, Deputy Mayor, Housing
& Economic Development Policy, City of Los Angeles; Jim de la Loza, Senior
V.P., Planning & Project Development Lead, West Region, AECOM; Lynn L.
Jacobs, Director, California Department of Housing & Community Development;
Kevin Ratner, President, Forest City; William A. Witte, President, The Related
Companies of California.
This panel focused on the need to
develop a more robust transportation infrastructure—and accompanying
transit-oriented residential and commercial development—in Los Angeles,
highlighting how this investment will improve quality of life for all area
residents, while increasing the competiveness of local businesses. |
Panel III: Innovative Development Opportunities |
 From left: Panel moderator S. Gail Goldberg, AICP, Director of
Planning, City of L.A.; Jonathan Genton, Managing Member, Genton Barth Real
Estate Group LLC; Arthur T. Leahy, CEO, Metro; Rudolph Montiel, President &
CEO Housing Authority of Los Angeles; Dwight Alexander,V.P., Director of
Legislative and Regulatory Affairs,Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco;
Michael Rosenfeld, Executive Manager, Next Century Associates
LLC.
Panelists discussed a number of compelling development
plans currently underway, including the Jordan Downs development in Watts and
redevelopment of Century City. |
Employer
Assisted Housing Handbook: was distributed to over 10,000 opinion makers,
and business and community leaders. Download the report HERE.
Employer
Assisted Housing Workshops, January 2010: The LABC will be hosting workshops
with the Los Angeles City Planning Department and Los Angeles Mayor's Office to
provide local businesses with an opportunity to learn how to put the
recommendations contained in the Los Angeles Employer Assisted Housing Handbook
into practice. For more information on how to participate email LABC at info@labusinesscouncil.org
Access
DC, March 2010: This year's LABC delegation to Access DC will continue to
lobby on behalf of Rep Nydia Velázquez's bill, HR 1850, which would provide tax
incentives for employer assisted housing programs. |
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"With the
release of the Employer Assisted Housing Handbook at this year's summit, the Los
Angeles Business Council has once again put forward meaningful solutions to
address one of the greatest challenges facing Los Angeles. This handbook will
serve as an important resource for employers and policymakers alike, helping to
address the housing affordability gap plaguing working families in our region."
—Antonio Manning,
Regional Manager, JPMorgan Chase
Foundation, Global Philanthropy
"This year's Mayoral Housing,
Transportation and Jobs Summit was an important forum, bringing together key
public and private decision makers to discuss some of the most important policy
questions facing Los Angeles—from smart growth to transportation to job
creation."
—William Witte,
President & Managing Partner,
Related California
"It was my pleasure to moderate the Mayoral
Housing, Transportation and Jobs Summit, which will help advance important
solutions that improve Los Angeles' quality of life and secure its economic
future. I look forward to continuing to partner with the LABC in tackling the
major challenges facing our region."
—The Honorable Eric Garcetti,
President, Los Angeles
City Council
"This year's Summit set the tone for our future
economic recovery. The opportunities and resources identified by key
stakeholders establish a pathway for economic development in Los Angeles. By
merging transportation, housing and jobs projects together we are on track for a
brighter economic future."
—David Grunwald,
Executive Director, Alternative
Living for the Aging
Click here to become a LABC Member.
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Mayor Moves Up Metro: 30 in 10
The summit
concluded with a speech from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who announced
his intention to accelerate his 30-year transit plan to, consisting of 12 major
projects including the "Subway to the Sea", to 10 years. He said, "30 years is
too long to wait when we can build all 12 projects in a decade."
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Supervisor Speaks
 The Honorable
Mark Ridley-Thomas, L.A. County's 2nd District Supervisor, delivered a
speech framing the 3rd Panel of the Summit. He emphasized the potential for
Transit Oriented Developments. The key to getting out of this economic slump, he
sad, is a focus on entrepreneurial skill-sets and instincts, along with the
intelligent use of public resources to facilitate the "building of public
capital strategically." |
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> April 6: 2010 Sustainability
Summit: Building a Green Economy @ The Getty Center
> June: 2010 Los
Angeles Architectural Awards |
Press Impressions
The 2009 Housing,
Transportation and Jobs Summit, along with the Employer Assisted Housing
Handbook, received significant local and national press coverage including AP,
Reuters, ABC, and NBC.. For a comprehensive list of articles, please see the press section of the LABC website. Media highlights include:
LA Times: 1, 2
NBC
LA
Curbed LA: 1, 2
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Click here to become a LABC
Member.? |
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Summit Sponsors: Forest City, City of Los Angeles,
Habitat for Humanity Great Los
Angeles, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells
Fargo
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